Last week, in my capacity as the lead Democrat on the Homeland Security Oversight Subcommittee, I held a congressional field hearing at Boston’s Logan International Airport. The hearing addressed aviation security in the decade after 9/11.

Logan Airport established a cutting-edge safety plan after that horrific day and since then has been at the forefront of aviation security. It is also a leader in testing and embracing new technologies and programs. Thus, there was no better place to evaluate both the holes in our safety protocols and the improvements that should be implemented around the country than there.

Throughout the hearing, many interesting issues relating to the strengths and weaknesses of our aviation security were relayed. However, what participants and attendees alike both chose to comment on at its conclusion was the strong bipartisanship witnessed throughout the hearing. Unfortunately, Democrats and Republicans effectively working together is an uncommon occurrence as of late.

Yet, bipartisanship remains the only effective way for government to operate. This is especially true on issues such as our national security. Even Henry Kissinger has stated that “[o]ur greatest foreign policy problem is our divisions at home. Our greatest foreign policy need is national cohesion and a return to the awareness that in foreign policy we are all engaged in a common national endeavor.”

There are plenty of opportunities for elected officials to come together for the betterment and safety of this country that do not require one to compromise their principles. For example, seven years ago the 9/11 Commission recommended that we institute a universal radio frequency reserved for first responders only. The Commission said that if a system like this was in effect on 9/11, much of the loss of life might have been averted.

We need to put party differences aside to make recommendations like this a reality. Since coming to Congress, I have signed on to a bill sponsored by a Republican colleague that would do just that because it is in the best interest of our country.

This is the way members in both chambers of Congress should be approaching governing. We cannot compromise our homeland security and issues of national importance by failing to compromise for the benefit of our citizens.